Rail-anchor.



B. GQRGWELL.

RAIL ANCHOR. APPLICATION FILED AUGA, 1913.

' Patented Apr. 21, 1914 ,Eig

nnrrrono. nonfnnr., or olfieo, mariners,

RAIL-ANCH@ B.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application Itiled August ygll. Serial No. 782,761.'

To all whom t may conce/m Be it lnioivnthat I, BENTON C. HOWELL, a

eit-ii/ien of the United States, residingl in Chicago5 in the county of Cool( and State or' illinois, have invented a new and n seffnl linn provenie-,nt in Rail-Anchors, ot Which the following a speeication.

rllhis invention relates 4to improvements in rail anchors.

An object of the invention is to provide a rail anchor whichis made in a single piece, which .may he easily applied Ibly unskilled labor, and which Will llrnily grip the rail at a nnniloer of points to prevent the saine troni slipping 1elatively to the tie.

lhe invention furthermore consists in the improvements in the parts and devices and in the novel combinations or the par-'ts .and devices as herein shown, described or claimed. A

ln the drawing forming a ,part :of this specilication, Figure l is a sideelevation.of1

a section of rail showing my improved anchor in position thereon. Fig. 2 is/a Seetional View of .the rail and showing in end elevation the im )roved anchor and ,lli 3f is a detail sectional View taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. l.

ln said drawing, the rail l() is shown as of usual construction secured to a tie ll by spike l2.

rihe anchor, designated .generally by the reference A, is preferably made .as a 4inalleajlole casting and is provided with a curved,

upper gripping surface 13 adapted to en gage the under side of the head of the rail, an intermediate cur-ved, gripping surface le yadapted to engage the upper surface of (the rail lease. and a lower curved, gripping sui;- face 15 adapted to engage the under face of the rail base. All three of the lgripping surfaces i3, lil and 15 are struck on relatively long radii so that when the anchor is tilted or tipped relatively to the vertical as shown in Fig. l, a Wedging action Will result between the gripping surfaces and the adjacent faces of the rail. As Will be noted the gripping surface l5 extends substantially lhorizontally and the gripping surfaces 13 and 'll are disposed at an angle to each other to correspond with the direction of the surfaces with which they engage so that when the anchor is hammered home on the rail the anchor will be securely wedged in place between theloase and ihead thereof. The porlionson which thegripping surfaces i8 and 14 areormed are united hy a vertically extending portion 16, all the parts being braced by a flange Lor rib 17. 'l' he anchor is provided at the bottom thereof with a depending projection 18, lvl-shaped in crosssection'as shown in Fig. 3, which is adapted to engage with the tie ll and thereby prevent the anchor and rail from moving relativelyzto the ltie. The' portion of the anchor ,having the gripping surface l5 is provided at its inner .end with a hendahle tongue 19 which is adapted to be'heilt and clenched over the inner edge of the rail as shown in Fig. 2.

ln actual practice, when it is desired to prevent the rail from slipping in the direction indicated by the arroiv o in ,Fig. l, thev anchorivillloe applied as shown in said figure and in' applying the anchor, it `Will Erst be hammered in place'in a vertical position to Wedge the gripping surfaces 13, ld

and l5 transversely to the rail after which Y lper end of the anchor will be hainthe np inered to tilt the anchor to the position shown in F l, thereby still further wiedg-L ing the anchor and rail and after this operation vthe tongue 19 Will .then be clenched in position. i

As will be apparent from lthe preceding description and drawing, the anchor which l have designed, is adapted `to prevent thc rail from slipping in .either direction hy merely changing the' position of .the anchor relatively ,to the tie without changing the anchor from one side .of the rail to the other.

rlhis is an important consideration inasmuch v as the anchor .should always be placed .on the Aouter side of the rail to avoid any interference with the flanges of the Wheels which pass over the track. Furthermore7 the arrangement of the `gripping surfaces 13, 14- and l5 is such that the upper and lower points of 'contact are to one side oi thccentral line of the anchor and the point. of contact ot' the intermediate grplviing surface is to the other side of said line.

From theforegoing' description it Will be seen that the anchor maybe readily applied atany point desired by unskilled labor, that there are three points oil gripping contact loetween the anchor and rail and that any move ment of the rail in the direction which the anchor is designed to prevent., serves to increase the grip which the anchor exerts on the rai Although l have herein .shown and dc- 'till scribed what. I now consider the preferred construction of my improvements, yet it will be understood that changes and modifications may be made Withoutv Ideparting from the spirit of the invention and all Such changes and modifications are contemplated as fall Within the scope of'the claims appended hereto.

Iclaiin:

1. A single piece rail anchor liav` ig three relativel' elongated gripping I surfaces adapted to, engage respectively the. under side'of the rail head. the top side of the hase and the under side'of the hase, saidsurfaces being so arrangedl thai the Apoints of Contact betn'eeir said surfaces'x and the rail head and under side of theh/ase are' located on one side of the central line of the anchor and the point of contact of the third gripping surface is on the opposite side of said line. substantially as specified.

Q. As an article of manufacture, ai rail anchor having a portion thereof adapted to fit between the under side of the head and top side 'of the base of a rail, said portion having curved. upper and lower gripping Surfaces struck on relativel)Y long radii avhereby vvhen the anchor is tilted relatively to the rail it ivill be wedged thereon. sulA stantiall'v as specified. y

A rail anchor having three curved. gripping surfaces adapted io engage re-f spectively the under .side of the rail head. l the upper .side of the rail ha e and the under side ol' the rail base. all of said fripping surfaces being struck on relaiivel'v long radii vvlierebv the anchor grips the rail more firmly as it is tilted froin the vertical.

4. As an article of manufacture. a rail anchor having a portion thereof adapt'elh to fitr betneen the under side of the head and top side of the base of a rail, said portion having curved, upper and loner gripping surfaces struck on relatively long radii, and means extended beneath the rail base and adapted to be clenched thereover for securing thev anchor in place, substantially as specified.

5. A single piece rail anchor having three curved, gripping surfaces adapted to engage respectively the underside of the rail head. theupper Side of the rail base and the under side of the rail base, all of said surfaces being struck on relativelyl long radii,y the portion of the anchor having the surface adapted to grip the under side of the 'rail base being provided with an exten sion having a bendable tongue. thereon by which the anchor mayv be clenched to the rail, substantiallvv as specified.

C. A rail anchor .having three curved, gripping surfaces adapted to engage re spectively the under side of the rail head. the upper side of the rail base and the under side of the rail base. all of said gripping lsurfaces being struck on relativelv long radii, and means extending beneath the rail base aiid adapted to be clenched thereto for securing the anchor in place. .substantially as specified.

7. A single piece rail anchor having three curved gripping surfaces adapted to engage the under side 'of the rail head. the upper side of the rail hase and the under side of the rail hase. said anchor having also a depending projection .'li. the gril'iping sui l faces and proieclion heingso arranged that the anchor ina'v be used to prevent the rail from creeping in either direction when applied to the .saine vide of the rail. .substantially as specified.

Signed this lst day of August. '19123. in the presence of two witnesses.

BENTON C. lltlll'llil'i.

iii nesses:

.losisriiY llamas, lYiLLiAM A. Gianna. 

